Finally
by ashlynthestory-creator
Summary: Harry and Ginny Potter are in for a shocking surprise when the attend Uncle Vernon's funeral.


"Daddy, daddy!" shrieked the youngest Potter. "The felly-phone is ringing,"

"Telephone, sweetheart," Harry smiled, but was curious to see who had called him. Ron and Hermione and almost everyone else he knew contacted him through owl post or floo, and he didn't have any muggle friends. The only reason the Potter household had a telephone was because the Auror department required one incase they could not be contacted by magic. "Hello?" he asked, and nearly dropped his morning from the voice he heard on the other end.

"Er, hello Harry, how've you been?" came a thick, timid voice, not unlike the one he heard on his last day at number 4 Privet Drive.

"Dudley?" Harry stated dumbly; he was beyond shocked that he was talking to his cousin after twenty long years. "Er, I've been great and all, how about you?" he asked awkwardly.

"Fine, fine," Dudley replied in perfect Dursely fashion.

Harry instantly knew there was something wrong, but he tried to keep the casual conversation. "How's Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon?"

"Mum isn't taking it very well because um, dad died yesterday." Dudley said slowly, Harry could hear the quiver in his voice.

"Oh Dudley, I'm so sorry," Harry said sincerely. Although he was never fond of his Uncle, he had, as he so often liked to point out, provided a roof over his head and food off their table and their strong mutual dislike for one another was so severe that it could be seen as enemies having a sense of respect for each other. "Er, when is the funeral? I'll promise I'll be there."

"Saturday at seven pm, that's when his favourite programme was always on. And it's at the St. Andrew's cathedral, do you remember where that is?"

"Of course Dudley, I've only been there every Sunday for ten years straight." Harry bit his lip after his natural, sarcastic remark. "Would you mind if I bought my wife and daughter?"

"You got married? And had a daughter? That's good I'd like to meet them. And um Harry, there's something I need to talk to you about when you get here. It's really important and I think only you know about it. Bye," Dudley hung up abruptly, leaving Harry still unsurely listening into the phone.

"Who was that Daddy?" Harry hadn't noticed that Lily was patiently waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"It was your Uncle Dudley, Lily-flower. We're going to go visit him on Saturday." Harry said patiently, hoisting her up and taking her into the kitchen for breakfast. Now that both of her brothers were off to Hogwarts poor Lily was left alone, so Harry and Ginny worked on alternating days to be with her since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were on a well deserved vacation in Fiji.

"Is it the Uncle Dudley who sends the Christmas cards that don't move? You know, they boring muggle ones?" she asked as she added blueberries to her father's bowl pancake batter.

Harry chuckled. "They very same."

"Is he nice?"

"More or less, before I knew I was a wizard he was terrible to me. He and his friends used to pulverize me every day. But the day he discovered I was magical, he hasn't laid a finger on me." Harry explained, he thought it was important to tell his children as much as he could about his history, seeing that he was kept in the dark for long.

"Why would he be scared of magic, it's so beautiful," Lily said dreamily. She yearned for the day she'd get her own wand.

"I think the story goes way back," Harry said as he flipped the pancakes. It was soothing to do some things the muggle way every once and a while. "You see, my mother, your grandmother-"

"Lily!"

"Yes, Lily, displayed magic from very early on, but her older sister, Pentunia didn't like it because it wasn't normal and she was jealous that she wasn't magical too. So when she married, she picked the most 'normal' and ordinary person she could fine, and they raised a perfectly normal family. They were scared that magic will interfere with their ordinariness."

"That's so strange," Lily said through a mouthful of blueberry pancakes doused in maple syrup.

Harry ruffled her red hair fondly. "Who'd have thought that being so plain would make you so strange?"

The two grinned as they devoured their breakfast.

XXX

"I can't wait to see the boy that Hagrid gave a tail to and who was dumb enough to eat Fred and George's candy that made his tongue swell to about six feet!" Ginny said excitedly as she, Harry and Lily made their way through the fresh, November snow to the church from their secluded apparition point.

"Gin, we're going to a funeral, not a circus," muttered Harry, but he couldn't help but smile when he thought of an eleven-year-old Dudley in tears as he hopped around the small shack with a new curly tail.

"I wonder what he wants to talk to you about. He hasn't really been the one for conversation. For twenty years his Christmas card said 'Happy Christmas Harry, from Dudley.' Nothing more or less." Ginny remarked. She was not very keen on going to the funeral of the man that had abused and neglected her husband, but to her dismay, Harry's chivalry always won through her arguments.

Harry shrugged as he caught sight of Dudley, who was just as large as his father before him, but he lacked the confidence and brute strength that Vernon Dursely so proudly emitted.

"Hey, Big D," Harry chuckled and held out his hand and nearly felt it fall off after Dudley's ham-like hand crushed it.

"Harry, thanks for coming," he said quietly.

Harry, still nursing his throbbing hand, presented his family. "This is my wife, Ginny and my daughter Lily, my boys are at school."

"I'm sorry about your loss," Ginny said with the same frosty, sarcastic smile Mrs. Weasley used when she had to refrain from scolding the twins in public. Dudley gave her weak nod and shook her hand gently.

Lily held out her hand too. "Sorry, Uncle Dudley" she said, earning an honest smile from Dudley. He bent down to her level and shook her hand with pure delicacy, something Harry was not accustomed too. "Thank you Lily. You have a very pretty name,"

Lily grinned. "Thank you! I'm named after my grandmother."

"My daughter is too, I think she's your age." Dudley beckoned a tall, thin, blonde girl over; with familiar, green almond-shaped eyes. "This is my daughter Petunia, she turned eleven last week. Petunia, this is your Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and cousin Lily."

"Hello," Petunia said sweetly.

"Hi!" Harry and Ginny said, dumbfounded. Dudley Dursely helped produce this? A beautiful, china doll daughter? A girl as beautiful as the part-veela Victorie and Dominique Weasley? Harry simply knew that Ginny was thinking _'She must be ninety percent her mother.'_

Dudley took a knee so he was level with the girl and placed his large hand comfortingly on her back, gently pushing her forward. "Your Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny and Cousin Lily are all like you," he whispered, watching his daughter's downcast demenour completely change to that of excitement.

"They're magic too!" she said as loud as she could, and turned around quickly to see if anyone, especially her grandmother, was listening.

"Magic survived through your uncle's genes?" Ginny smirked and she smiled more warmly at the girl.

"Did you really go to the magic school? Did you get a letter on your eleventh birthday from an owl too?" Petunia was so anxious to know that the whole thing wasn't a hoax. That she, for once, was normal, that there were people like her.

"Of course Petunia," Harry pushed Lily forward. "Lily doesn't turn eleven until May, but I'm sure she knows about the school to tell you all about it, don't you Lily?"

Lily looked appalled that her father even thought of doubting her. "Obviously, daddy. Come'on Petunia, I'll tell you all about the houses, and sports and cups and all the funny things my brother James and cousin Molly do…"

"Is that what you wanted to tell me Dudley?" Harry was relieved, but he didn't realize how big a deal this was for his cousin.

"Oh look, there's Mrs. Figg, I'll see how's she is doing," Ginny excused herself and left the two cousins to talk.

Once Ginny was gone, the frightened Dudley returned, with the same demeanor as when he first found out, along with the rest of the family, that Harry was a wizard. "Harry haven't told my mother," he blurted out.

"Honestly I think it would be easier now seeing that Uncle Vernon isn't here anymore…"

"But she hates magic! I saw how she treated you! And she would never talk about your mother," Dudley whined. "My mum is Tuney's only mother-figure, ever since my wife left as soon as Tuney was two."

"Oh Big D," Harry said sympathetically. "I could tell her if you want?"

"Are you sure?" Dudley asked casually, even though he already started scanned the small church for his mother.

"I've faced worse than Aunt Petunia," Harry said solemnly as he saw his aunt approach them. She had, naturally, aged, her ebony hair now salt-and-pepper coloured and long neck seemed to droop on her hunched shoulders, making her appear far less intimidating than when Harry was eleven. Her expression when she first saw Harry was as blank as the one as it was when she left number four privet drive twenty years ago.

"Harry," she said through pursed lips.

"Hello, Aunt Petunia," Harry didn't expect much more. "I'm sorry for your loss," he managed.

She nodded, and Harry took a deep breath before spitting out: "Your granddaughter is a witch,"

Aunt Petunia's frosty stature was shattered and she glared at Harry and her son.

"What? How? Your father and I are most definitely not magic!" Petunia shrieked.

"Niether were your parents," Harry pointed out calmly.

By her tone, Harry realized that she wasn't angry that her granddaughter was a witch, she was, to Harry's surprise, purely jealous. "Did she get a letter then, Dudley? Did she get one by owl?"

Dudley shook his head. "A professor from the school came and explained everything-"

Petunia glared at Harry. "How? How can some of us have magic and other's not?"

Her nephew raised his arms up in surrender. "That isn't my area of expertise, I only catch dark wizards,"

"Wicked, like a policeman?"

"Sure, Dudley, like a policeman," Harry rolled his eyes. "Aunt Petunia, all I know is that your granddaughter is very lucky and that Hogwarts is the best Wizarding school in the world. I'm sure you didn't love my mother any less when you discovered that she was a witch. Don't do that to your own granddaughter."

Petunia's eyes travelled to her husband's casket. What would he say? "Vernon would never let her go,"

"But it will make her happy," Dudley pleaded. "Please, mum!"

"Isn't that what you wanted? A Petunia Dursley to attended Hogwarts?" Harry added.

Aunt Petunia sighed "I said Vernon would never let her go," she replied.

"She'll have to go, Aunt Petunia. Remember how Hagrid found me? I'm sure you don't want to go through that ordeal again." Harry said savagely.

"She's going." Dudley said aloud.

"But Dudders-" she protested.

"You've just lost dad, mum, I think you should accept Tuney the way she is, or you'll have lost everything, your entire family."

"Dudley-"

"No mum," he said, swatting his hand away. "Harry said that you and Aunt Lily were so close and you let magic come in between you. Don't let that happen again." He said firmly.

"Dudley Evan Dursley!" Aunt Petunia stomped her foot. "Your father wouldn't do this but I didn't say I wouldn't."

Dudley was confused, however Harry caught on quickly. "Thank-you, Aunt Petunia, for finally coming around," he grinned. He felt a warmth inside of him, his mother would be overjoyed, Lily and Petunia would finally go to Hogwarts together.


End file.
